NYE fireworks: Celebrations around the world

The world is welcoming in the new year with celebrations and the ubiquitous fireworks. See how partygoers around the globe are ringing in 2023.

The world’s eight billion people have begun ushering in 2023 and bidding farewell to a turbulent 12 months marked by war in Europe, stinging price rises, and the deaths of the Queen, sporting legends Shane Warne and Pele and former Pope Benedict.

Millions of people around the world will ring in the new year with more freedom than they’ve enjoyed in the three years since the Covid pandemic began.

Here’s how the world is celebrating.

Onlookers watch as confetti fills the air to mark the beginning of the new year, in Times Square, New York. Picture Yuki Iwamura / AFP

NEW YORK

A packed Times Square in New York braced cold and rain to celebrate the start to 2023 as confetti filled the air and the famous New Year’s Eve ball dropped at midnight.

Revelers returned to a full-scale event after two years of scaled-back celebrations in response to the Covid pandemic.

Revelers kiss at Times Square during the New Year's Eve celebration on December 31, 2022 in New York. Picture: David Dee Delgado/Getty Images/AFP

Confetti filled the air to mark the beginning of the new year, in Times Square, New York. Picture Yuki Iwamura / AFP

Fireworks light up the London skyline over Big Ben and the London Eye. Picture: Getty

LONDON

Fireworks exploded over the majestic Big Ben as London turned on a magical show and the UK bid farewell to an emotionally charged 2022.

Party-goers gathered on the banks of the Thames for the event, with tributes to the late Queen and 50 years of Pride celebrations.

London's New Year’s Eve firework display returned after it was cancelled during the Covid pandemic. Picture: Getty

Fireworks light up the London skyline. Picture: Getty

PARIS

Around half a million people gathered in the streets of Paris for the first new year fireworks since 2019. Revellers were not disappointed, with the city putting on one of the most spectacular displays in recent memory.

Fireworks explode next to the Arc de Triomphe as the clock strikes midnight. Picture: AFP

The Arc de Triomphe lights up during New Year celebrations in Paris. Picture: AFP

A spectator holds a smartphone as fireworks explode next to the Arc de Triomphe. Picture: AFP

Crowds gather on the Champs-Elysee as they wait for the New Year’s Eve fireworks. Picture: AFP

BERLIN

Revellers partied as fireworks exploded over Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate to mark the start of 2023.

Germany kicked off the new year with a bang as the nation celebrated in epic style.

Berlin’s fireworks pay tribute to the people of Ukraine. Picture: AFP

Fireworks explode over Berlin’s landmark the Brandenburg Gate. Picture: AFP

ATHENS

In Athens, fireworks exploded over the ancient Acropolis, treating partygoers to a spectacular sight.

Fireworks set the Acropolis alight. Picture: AFP

The Parthenon is bathed in light during New Year celebrations. Picture: AFP

DUBAI

Dubai welcomed 2023 in typically lavish style, with record-breaking fireworks and laser shows going off simultaneously at nearly 40 venues across the United Arab Emirates.

New Year's Eve fireworks light the landmark Burj Khalifa tower at midnight in the Gulf emirate of Dubai. Picture: AFP

The New Year’s Eve light show illuminates the Burj Khalifa tower. Picture: AFP

Fireworks exploded at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, lighting up the Dubai skyline.

The fireworks display at the Sheikh Zayed Festival in Abu Dhabi lasted for more than 40 minutes, aiming to break another world record.

SEOUL

People celebrate the new year in Seoul. Picture: AFP

South Korea celebrated the new year with its first in-person bell-tolling ceremony in three years due to the pandemic. Picture: AFP

South Korea has celebrated the new year with its first bell-tolling ceremony in Seoul for three years due to the Covid pandemic. Cho Gue-sung, a footballer from the country’s World Cup Qatar team, was among 10 South Koreans to headline the event at the Bosingak Pavilion in central Seoul, which was spread over a much larger area this year to avoid overcrowding.

People light up their phones before midnight as they celebrate New Year's Eve in Seoul. Picture: Reuters

A Buddhist follower prays in front of lotus lanterns during celebrations for the New Year at Jogye temple in central Seoul. Picture: AFP/Getty Images

South Koreans celebrated the new year in style. Picture: AFP/Getty Images

MALAYSIA

Malaysia’s government cancelled its New Year countdown and fireworks event at Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur after flooding across the nation displaced tens of thousands of people and a landslide killed 31 people this month.

Celebrations at the country’s famous Petronas Twin Towers were pared down with no performances or fireworks.

But the streets of Kuala Lumpur were still packed with partygoers as the Malaysian city rang in 2023.

A couple celebrates in Kuala Lumpur. Picture: Reuters

Revellers celebrate during new year's eve in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Picture: Reuters

MUMBAI

In Mumbai, revellers gathered at the city’s famed landmarks to welcome 2023.

The city was a sea of colour as partygoers celebrated at the Gateway of India and the beach road Marine Drive for a laser light show and fireworks.

People gather at the sea promenade, lit up during sunset on New Year’s Eve in Mumbai. Picture: AFP

A woman sells partygoers balloons in India. Picture: Getty Images

The people of Mumbai celebrated the new year. Picture: AFP

BANGKOK

Bangkok brought in the new year with a bang as partygoers enjoyed watching a spectacular fireworks show.

The city’s rooftop bars were packed as Thailand boomed back to life in the first big celebrations since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Revellers party in Bangkok. Picture: Getty Images

People buy light up glasses before watching the New Year’s Eve fireworks in Bangkok. Picture: Getty Images

Bangkok was lit up by a dazzling display of fireworks. Picture: Getty Images

HONG KONG

Hong Kong’s New Year’s Eve celebrations went big this year after the territory lifted all Covid restrictions for inbound travellers upon arrival. The countdown celebrations organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board featured cultural and sporting performances and a 10-minute pyrotechnic and multimedia light show against the backdrop of the iconic Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong skyline.

Hong Kong has rung in 2023. Picture: Getty Images

Revellers take photos during a fireworks and laser show as they celebrate the New Year next to Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong. Picture: AFP

Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour lights up. Picture: AFP

A couple ring in the new year in Hong Kong. Picture: AFP

After trudging through the pandemic, the people of Hong Kong were ready to celebrate. Picture: AFP

BEIJING

Beijing has rung in 2023 with celebrations even kicking off at the iconic Great Wall as China saw large crowds gather for the first new year since the easing of strict Covid restrictions, despite soaring rates of the infection.

People celebrate the new year in Beijing. Picture: Supplied

Celebrations also took place in Shanghai where authorities said traffic was stopped along the waterfront Bund to allow pedestrians to celebrate.

China has just come out of harsh Covid lockdowns. Picture: Supplied

The people of China were out celebrating after another tough year. Picture: Supplied

TOKYO

The people of Tokyo were out in full force as the Japanese city celebrated New Year’s Eve. Revellers took to the streets, including descending on Tokyo’s famous Shibuya Crossing to party and wave goodbye to the past few years and the difficulties of the pandemic.

A young boy celebrates in Tokyo. Picture: Getty Images

Locals and tourists celebrate the start of the New Year at Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo. Picture: AFP

Tokyo was ready to celebrate a new year. Picture: AFP

Police direct people as they try to cross the street ahead of midnight to celebrate the start of the New Year at Shibuya Crossing. Picture: AFP

Tokyo was in party mode. Picture: AFP

SYDNEY

Sydney has celebrated the new year with its famous fireworks display.

About a million people lined the shores of Sydney Harbour to take in the midnight fireworks display. The jawdropping extravaganza followed an earlier fireworks display that was “inspired by the land, sea and sky”.

The 9pm fireworks light up Sydney Harbour. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the city’s theme for the city’s NYE celebrations was diversity and inclusion.

“This New Year’s Eve we are saying Sydney is back as we kick off festivities around the world and bring in the new year with a bang,” she said.

Partygoers celebrating in a packed Circular Quay foreshore for the New Year’s Eve celebrations in Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

The night kicked off with a smoking ceremony around the harbour, while special animations celebrating all facets of life in the harbour city were beamed onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge pylons as the countdown began for the Calling Country 9pm fireworks.

The 9pm display featured pylon projections honouring the knowledge and resilience of Aboriginal people as well as pyrotechnics that draw inspiration from sky, land and sea.

Happy New Year! Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The display was curated by First Nations artists Carmen Glynn-Braun and Dennis Golding from Re-Right Collective in partnership with Gadigal artist Nadeena Dixon and Foti International Fireworks.

The fireworks were synchronised to a bespoke soundtrack from artist Rowan Savage before a performance from Akala Newman and rapper Kobie Dee closed out the 9pm celebrations.

ADELAIDE

While the fireworks were back on with a vengeance in the city this year after a two-year absence, New Year’s Eve celebrations in Murray Bridge were cancelled this year out of respect for victims of flooding.

Paquier Laurent, Pauline, Mathilde 11, and Maël 8, from Lyon, France, celebrate New Year’s Eve in Adelaide. Picture: Ben Clark,

A spokesman for the Rural City of Murray Bridge said it would be inappropriate for the council to be celebrating by the river when people in the community were still feeling the impacts from the floods.

New Year’s Eve in Adelaide. Picture: Ben Clark

There are plenty of fireworks shows, from the family friendly ones at 9.30pm to the big show at midnight.

MELBOURNE

Victorians turned out in huge numbers to ring in the New Year as almost half a million revellers flooded the city and thousands of others celebrated along the state’s coast and inland.

People packed into Melbourne’s CBD for the midnight fireworks as the city skyline erupted into a dazzling blaze of colour.

Fireworks explode as the clock strikes midnight in Melbourne. Picture: Mark Stewart

Is it even New Year’s Eve if you don’t document it for social media? Picture: Mark Stewart

Federation Square, Southbank Promenade and Princes Bridge were filled with partygoers as they watched the eight-minute-long extravaganza in awe.

The City of Melbourne estimated a crowd of 475,000 people watched the fireworks in the city.

Melburnians celebrate the new year. Picture: Mark Stewart

Melbourne’s skyline lit up at midnight. Picture: Mark Stewart

Sisters Fabia and Bella Alina thought the fireworks were “fantastic”.

Earlier, the news was not so festive as revellers who turned out for the 9.30pm fireworks were left disappointed with the show, the Herald Sun reported.

The fireworks were reportedly only visible from the eastern parts of the city.

People watch the 9.30pm fireworks from Princes Bridge, Melbourne. Picture: Mark Stewart

Oliver Chu said the early display was “pathetic”.

“We lined up for so long to get a spot to watch the fireworks – we thought they would be directly in the CBD,” he said.

People watch the 9.30pm fireworks from Princes Bridge, Melbourne. Picture: Mark Stewart

Mother-of-three Veronica Grant said she thought the display was “a bit disappointing”.

“I brought my kids here to see the fireworks tonight and I’m glad I did – but they were just smaller than I thought,” Ms Grant said.

AUCKLAND

Kiwis have rung in the new year with an explosion of colour in Auckland as 500kg – or about 3500 individual flares – were let off from Auckland’s Sky Tower in a five-minute extravaganza promised to be “bigger and better than ever”.

Happy New Year from Auckland! pic.twitter.com/qUGkq9m7uX

— Jamie Larounis (@TheForwardCabin) December 31, 2022

#WATCH | People in New Zealand cheerfully welcome New Year 2023 amid fireworks & light show. Visuals from Auckland.#NewYear2023

(Source: Reuters) pic.twitter.com/mgy1By4mmA

— ANI (@ANI) December 31, 2022

Discos, bonfires, cultural shows, concerts and carnivals took place elsewhere, as thousands made for town centres, parks and streets before the clock struck midnight.